This invention relates to packaging generally, and is more specifically related to a package which may contain a single portion, dose or application of fluid material and which will discharge the fluid material from the package in a controlled fashion by the application of manual pressure to the package and the fluid material contained therein.
Various packages or containers are available in the prior art which contain a single portion, dose or application of liquid, semi-solid, colloidal or other fluid material. More particularly, the art to which this invention is directed is that which is characterized by two sheets of material, generally plastic or metal foil, which are sealed or seamed around the perimeter to form an envelope which contains the fluid material. Specific examples are single portion packages of condiments, such as ketchup and mustard, which are found in the food industry, and single application packages of lotions, such as hand lotion, or single doses of medicines which are contained in similar packaging.
To open these packages, the seal must be torn or ripped, which can be difficult to accomplish by manual means. Plastic packages, which are more common than foil packages due to cost, are difficult to grip, and the most difficult part of the package to tear is at the seam. While these packages are generally easy to cut with scissors or similar tools, such tools are not readily available in many situations, such as at restaurants where single portion packages of condiments are dispensed.
Accordingly, it has long been desired that single portion packages of this type be capable of opening by the application of manual pressure to the package and to the contents of the package. The difficulty in producing such a package has been the achievement of a seal or other means which will control the rate of discharge of the material from the package in a satisfactory manner, while not being subject to bursting in an undesired fashion. While the prior art has produced a seal which will burst under manual pressure, this seal may be too easily burst, resulting in the contents being discharged at an undesired time, such as during the shipping and handling of the package. Seals in the prior art which are more difficult to burst under manual pressure tend to cause the contents to be discharged with such force that the application of the contents cannot be properly controlled. Certainly, in the restaurant setting, having condiments discharged from the packaging in an uncontrolled fashion is not conducive to the sanitation of a restaurant. Likewise, where medicines are contained within such packages, if a portion of the contents is misdirected, proper dosage cannot be controlled.
The present invention provides a single portion, dose or application package from which the contents can be discharged in a controlled fashion by applying manual pressure, most commonly by the thumb and forefinger, to the package and its contents. The present invention comprises a chamber which is formed by two sheets of material sealed around the perimeter, with a portion of the perimeter seal produced so as to peel apart in a controlled fashion as the fluid material contents are forced against the seal by manual pressure, so as to release the contents in a relatively slow, controlled fashion. While a single chamber sealed in this fashion will produce a package, standing alone, which will satisfactorily dispense the contents thereof by the manual application of pressure, to further insure the controlled discharge of the fluid material from the package, a second chamber may be employed which is empty until the contents of the first chamber are discharged, with the second chamber receiving the contents of the first chamber upon discharge of the first chamber. This second chamber further has a seal which will burst under a smaller amount of manual pressure than the seal in the first chamber, so as to discharge the fluid material contents from the package in a controlled fashion.